Thank you for your continued support of this newsletter. Please share with anyone who would be interested in this content.

If you are interested in NIL athlete representation, NIL education for your college or high school, and student-athlete personal brand coaching, please contact me: [email protected]

Save the Date: NIL Summit

On Monday, January 29, I will be amongst a group of NIL professionals putting on an NIL Summit at North Carolina A&T in Greensboro, NC. Click here to learn more and register!

If you are interested in sponsoring the Summit, please email me for further details.

Today’s Case

Celebrity comedians’ BBQ brand offers NIL deal to Washington’s offensive line

NIL: Served up one tasty deal at at time.

Ahead of this week’s College Football Playoff semifinal game, celebrity barbecue lifestyle brand AC Barbeque - founded by comedians Cedric the Entertainer and Anthony Anderson - offered the Washington Huskies' offensive line a unique NIL partnership to celebrate their collective looks.

In an Instagram collab post between AC Barbeque and Washington Football, Cedric and Anthony surprised the Huskies with an invite to Los Angeles for a "Husky & Handsome Men Of The Year" calendar photoshoot.

AC Barbeque struck while the iron was hot, as Washington's offensive line recently won the Joe Moore Award, given to the best offensive line in the country. They allowed just 11 sacks in 13 games and only 46 tackles for loss, protecting Heisman Trophy runner-up and Maxwell Award winner Michael Penix Jr.

The Verdict

• Recognizing underrated student-athletes with NIL deals

  • For football, the ‘stat producers’ (quarterbacks, running backs, receivers, etc.) tend to earn the most NIL deals, so it’s refreshing to see under-appreciated athletes earning partnerships.

  • Additionally, this is good news for student-athletes in sports that do not receive national attention or TV coverage. This goes to show that if an athlete puts work into building their brand and being proactive, they can also earn NIL deals.

• Multiple student-athletes earning partnerships is outstanding

  • Love to see NIL deals that benefit numerous student-athletes from the same team (or the entire team). This ensures everybody eats (no pun intended) and it helps the brand tap into various audiences of said athletes.

    • One of my favorite partnerships from last year featured multiple Iowa State football players with a unique combination of last names partnering with Iowa Pork Producers.

• Details of the partnership?

  • While details of the deal were not disclosed, I’m interested to see the content created for this.

    • As noted, there will be a photo shoot/video shoot, and most likely social media promotion, etc.

    • Also assuming (hoping) the athletes will earn an upfront payment and potential earn money on products sold. Also, will this be a one-time deal or a long-term relationship?

Thank You for reading today’s newsletter

^{I discuss insights and news related to name, image and likeness in 3 minutes or less every Monday, Wednesday and Friday at 12p ET/9a PT.}

Follow Sports Court on Instagram, TikTok, Twitter and YouTube for more NIL content!